“IGT has worked closely with the DC Lottery on games that engage their player community, such as the game Lucky Pets,” said Jay Gendron, IGT Chief Operating Officer, Lottery. “IGT is pleased to continue working with the DC Lottery, and we look forward to enhancing their instant ticket program with creative new content over the next year.”

“With the upgrade to these advanced retail terminals for Keno players, Tabcorp is again demonstrating their commitment to enhancing the player experience,” said Michael Conforti, President of Global Strategic Accounts for Scientific Games.

Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase reviled cryptocurrency just 18 months ago as a “fraud” and “stupid”. Now, his bank is set to become the first U.S. bank to launch its own digital currency. If Blockchain combined with cryptocurrency can form the basis for a legitimized, self-contained, self sufficient ecosystem in the financial sector, could it do the same in the gambling sector? And won't that pose troublesome regulatory challenges?

“The success of the Lottery over the past three decades has been truly remarkable,” stated Jeff Anderson, Idaho Lottery Director. “To be approaching nine hundred million dollars in returned dividends to the public schools and permanent buildings of Idaho in just thirty years has certainly exceeded the expectations of those who created the Lottery in 1989.”

Scoring the most points or unlocking more exciting stages in a video game used to require practice and patience. Today, gamers can skip the grind and simply pay to get ahead by buying so-called loot boxes -- virtual vaults containing items such as tokens, better weapons or faster cars.

President and CEO Olli Sarekoski: ”In 2018 Veikkaus prepared for major changes in its operating environment. Gaming is shifting from the points of sale towards the digital channel, where Veikkaus also faces competition from foreign operators. Veikkaus must develop its operations to succeed in international competition. Succeeding in the competition and ensuring our ability to channel gaming also provide the basis for the exclusive right and its continuation. We want to be able to provide games responsibly even in the future, minimizing game-related harm and channelling gaming revenue to the benefit of Finnish people.

Bob Vincent to Become Chairperson of IGT Global Solutions Corporation; Wendy Montgomery Named Senior Vice President of Global Brand, Marketing, and Communications; and Scott Gunn Appointed Senior Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs

Lottoland claims to have 750,000 users and offered Australians the chance to bet on the outcomes of major American lotteries such as Powerball. Then, Legislation that was passed in June 2018 that bans Lottoland and others from offering customers the ability to bet on the outcomes of international lotteries. Following the ban, the Gibraltar-based Lottoland launched ‘jackpot betting’. Lottoland’s ‘Jackpot betting’ determines winners by taking specific numbers from financial markets like the ASX and New York Stock Exchange at particular times of the day, arranging them into one long number, and using a computer calculator to convert it into the winning lottery numbers.

“We ask that DOJ withdraw its opinion altogether or assure us that DOJ will not bring any enforcement actions against companies and individuals engaged in online gaming in our states — where it is appropriate under state law," New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal and Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro wrote in a letter to Matthew G. Whitaker, acting U.S. attorney general.

Mr. Michael Heinrich, Managing Director of LOTTO Hamburg GmbH, stated: “Our Points of Sale are of prime importance for the success of our gaming business and the replacement of the gaming terminals is part of our plan to grow and modernize our retail network. INTRALOT’s solution was determined as industry leading and the best fit for LOTTO Hamburg needs. We are excited to announce the contract award to INTRALOT, so congratulations to all involved.”

“GLI brought its lottery systems renewal experience to this project, which helped us in looking past the shiny veneer of the solutions we were offered in the initial evaluation phase,” said Rainer Ballhausen, Lotto Hamburg’s head of IT

Milen Ganev, Managing Partner for National Lottery Bulgaria, said, “Scientific Games’ digital products have proven an excellent fit for National Lottery Bulgaria, outperforming our expectations within the first 24 hours of launch. Our players are engaging with the games immediately, and we see demand and repeat gameplay growing every day.”

The new association will urge Norway’s government to abandon its monopolistic stance in favour of a liberalised regime that would allow internationally licensed online gambling operators to apply for local licenses.

EsportsBettingMarketSettoExplodetoaTotalValueof$12.9Bby2020

Esports Betting Market Set to Explode to a Total Value of $12.9B by 2020

Esports is already the fastest-growing sector in the rapidly expanding sports betting market, and its piece of the pie is only going to get bigger in the years ahead.

According to research done by NJGames.org, the total amount bet on esports competitions is expected to hit $12.9 billion by 2020. Compared to the $5.5 billion bet on esports in 2016, that number would mark a 134 percent increase in just four years.

To put that $12.9 billion figure in perspective, the total handle for sportsbooks in Nevada on all sports was about $4.8 billion in 2017.

“The growth of e-sports is based on overall viewership and the amount of money that curiosity generates is huge,” NJGames content manager Onur Unlu told the South China Morning Post. “Sponsorships, larger prize money, advertising will all be larger as the interest in esports increases.”

For the uninitiated, esports are video game competitions featuring teams of players battling against one another, often for large sums of cash, and often in front of huge live audiences.

Last year’s Dota 2 Championship in Vancouver featured a $25 million prize pool and attracted tens of thousands of fans.

Compare that to prize pools in some of the most recent events in major sports:

PGA Sony Open – $6.4M

PGA Tournament of Champions – $6.5M

ATP Sydney International – $528,910

US Open Tennis Tournament – $47M

World Series of Poker – $62M

Just Not in Massachusetts

While betting on the sport is expected to explode in the years ahead, none of that betting will be taking place in Massachusetts, at least, not legally.

When New Jersey introduced its sports betting bill in 2018, it initially vowed to disallow any betting on “electronic sports, and competitive video games.”

However, after some outcry from the community, state legislators later amended the bill to allow for esports betting – as long as all the competitors in the competition are over 17-years old. But as many of the best esports players in the world are in their early teens, that severely limits the options.

The Seedy Side

It’s not as simple as sitting back and watching the betting money roll in, however.

Issues surrounding match fixing and fraud are significant concerns for the esports industry, perhaps even more so than in the traditional sports.

Bob Vincent to Become Chairperson of IGT Global Solutions Corporation; Wendy Montgomery Named Senior Vice President of Global Brand, Marketing, and Communications; and Scott Gunn Appointed Senior Vice President of Corporate Public Affairs